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Hi All! It's been awhile since I've been on the site as things have been going well and I was starting to feel like a "normal" mom...LOL anyway, Idrees' INR has been unstable for a few weeks. This week it was downright scary. On Monday, INR was 4.3 so dosage was lowered by 2 mg. total/week...

When my child began taking Coumadin/Warfarin, I was told by all of the medical professionals that we must avoid Ibuprofen (Motrin) and that Tylenol was the only safe med. for pain relief/fever reduction. Yesterday I received Idrees' Warfarin in the mail and in the package was an insert warning...

I am trying to order testing strips and lancets for my son's ProTime monitor. QAS has been my supplier, however, they seem to have merged with another company, Alere and I am having problems getting my order in. They have a order messaging system as opposed to talking to a real person. They...

Hello everyone. You may know me as Mom to Idrees with congenital heart defects. Well, Idrees is doing fantastic; however my husband went through triple bypass last week so I now have 2 heart patients in the family. He did not have a heart attack, he was sent to the cath. lab by his...

I have the ProTime system for Idrees. Problem is....I can't seem to keep up with the supplies. When I get down to having about 4 left, I give a call and order more. But, it seems to take so long to get them and depending upon what's going on with his INR, I can easily run out. That has...

I accidentally gave my son my thyroid medication on Monday night instead of his Warfarin. I didn't realize my mistake until the next evening when I went to get his pill bottle and found mine in its place. PANIC.....I called the Cardio. who felt that the amount of thyroid med. would not be...

Hi all, I know there aren't a lot of us out there with kids taking coumadin but I've had some mixed messages about activity restrictions and was wanting to hear what others have done. Idrees is 5 months post surgery and is wanting badly to be able to participate in recess and PE again. I...

I took Idrees in today to see his Cardiologist. After looking at the ECHO results he told me that Idrees' heart looks better than it has ever looked in his whole 7 year life. I am thrilled.....particularly after 3 summers in a row of cardiac interventions!! I don't take anything as gospel...

Hi all, My 7 year old son takes Warfarin. On Friday ( 5 days ago) he ran down the sidewalk, tripped, and hit his forehead. He came up crying and with the beginnings of a goose egg. I called the Cardio. who asked questions and then advised me to ice it and call if there were any behavior...

Idrees is now almost 6 weeks post-op and seems to be doing great! He is back to his same activity level and has no complaints about pain or discomfort. He visited the Cardiologist today and according to his ECHO, his right heart pressure gradient is below 30 and his right ventricle appears...

Hi all, I just wanted you all to know that we were granted permission and had success using the home monitor in the hospital following surgery. The question at one point became how soon after stopping Heparin can we test. Nobody knew the answer but I called ITC and they said 3-5 hours. We...

Idrees had his PVR today and it went very well. He was admitted on Monday in order to get the Heparin drip. The surgeons said that there was a lot of scar tissue to get through but that the muscle itself looks good, the right side is a bit thick but they seem to think it will thin as his heart...

I haven't told Idrees (aged 6) about his surgery yet but I need to do so soon. I have a plan in my head about how I will tell him but honestly, I'm scared to death. He has significant fear of all things medical due to the amount of trauma he has faced in the past. These are the things I am...

My son has his PVR coming up and is already on ACT for his mechanical mitral. I am hoping that I can convince the cardiologist to allow me to check his INR with the home monitor in the hospital. Blood draws send my child through the roof!!!!! Has anyone here ever done that?

My 6 year old son's surgery has been scheduled for July 1st at INOVA Fairfax Hospital in Northern Virginia. The plan is to remove his pulmonary homograft and replace it with the Hancock II bioprosthetic. He is already on coumadin for his mechanical mitral so he will be admitted a few days...

I will be looking to schedule my son's surgery for sometime this summer. I was thinking to schedule it in August and am wondering how long it might take for him to be good enough to be back in school given that this is a 3rd time re-do. School starts Sept. 7 so if I schedule for Aug. 12, it...

I met with my son's surgeon this afternoon and he spent over an hour with me going over my questions and giving me my options. I feel so much better now that we've talked about it. We had been emailing but it was better to sit down and discuss it. I didn't take Idrees with me because I don't...

My son's surgeon is suggesting replacing his pulmonary homograft with the Hancock II. Anyone have any experience with this valve?

I use the ProTime meter to check my 6 year old son's INR. However I do have concerns about reliability, as does my son's Dr. Last week I checked him on Tuesday and his INR was 1.9 (too low), the next day I went to the lab and it was 2.8 (in range). We did not change the dosage (he gets 4 mg...

Hi all, I am new to this site. I am the mother of a 6 year old boy who had mitral and pulmonary valve replacement surgery about 18 months ago. While his St. Jude's mechanical valve in the mitral position is doing great, his little body has basically destroyed the homograft placed in the...